Smile for me, Air
by Air Tsukiko
Summary: ItachixOC. Don't bash. Possible lemon in later chappies.
1. In Mourning

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, there would be Neko people.

Concept: Came from a roleplay me and my friends do. Air's married to Kisame, and has twins. A few weeks back we were talking about what would happen if Daleks from _Dr. Who _invaded. Niah and Raggi decided that Kisame would be one of the ones to be killed. I mulled over the idea and decided to write it out. Yes, Itachi has loved Air since before she and Kisame got together, but hes still in character, somewhat. Kay? kay! Agreed! Enjoy the story!

_He stood up, hefting Samehada over his shoulder. "Air, you stay here... watch the kids."_

_Air panicked. "No! Don't go, you'll get hurt!" Her complaints were silenced when his mouth sealed over hers for a quick, passionate kiss. When he pulled away, he was smirking cockily. _

"_Don't worry about me." And with that, he was off to fight them. Air watched as he swung his sword, narrowly catching the enemies in time. She felt proud of her husband…until one enemy came out of the bushes, wielding a gun aimed for his back._

_Air looked from him to her husband, and screamed as the shot rang out in the air. _

Air hadn't spoken or made a sound since that day. No emotion whatsoever. Her face always stoic as she went through her daily activities.

On one particular day, Chiharu and Hideki walked in the kitchen to find their mother washing the dishes automatically, like she had done every day since Kisame's funeral. Chiharu walked up to her mother and tugged on her sleeve.

"Mama?"

She turned slightly, her features remaining emotionless. No sound came from her.

Chiharu and Hideki had been trying to coax a reaction out of their mother for months now, to no avail. Once, Hideki, in all his desperation, even hugged his mother to try to get her to do _something_ to show emotion.

But it never happened.

Chiharu held up a drawing to her, and Air took it in her hand and stared at it for a moment. Her three-year-old daughter had drawn a picture of Air, smiling. Crude, but an attempt nonetheless.

Air moved away from the sink and hung the drawing up on the refrigerator for everyone else in the Akatsuki cave to see. The whole time, she showed no emotion.

Chiharu and Hideki sighed and left the room.

The fact was that the entire Akatsuki, since that day, had been trying to help Air, to try to get her to speak or show any sort of emotion. Deidara made fireworks for her; Sasori had even gone out of his way to make a puppet for her. Hidan, as much as he hated the girl, had tried to cheer her up by reading the bible of Jashin to her. Nothing worked. She never said or did anything, not even the slightest little twitch of her facial muscles.

She still went through her activities, taking the kids to the park, making sure to be a good parent. But she never talked or smiled or cried or did anything. No emotion.

Once she finished with the dishes, she looked at the clock. It was still early, she had to find something to do. She didn't want to have to think. She looked around. The dishes needed to be dried. Thankfully, she grabbed a dishtowel and went to work.

Just as she reached the last dish, it slipped out of her hand and shattered on the floor. Frantically, Air bent over to pick up the pieces.

…Did that shard look like Samehada?

She chanced another look. It did. Memories rushed into her head, and she suddenly dropped to her knees, shaking and wrapping her arms around herself. She made sure her face remained stoic, but inside she was screaming.

_No. No, no, no, I can't break down, no, I need to be strong…even if that means being nothing at all. Do. Not. Cry!_

It was at that moment Itachi casually walked in the kitchen. He stopped and stared down at Air on the floor, hunched over herself, shaking, with her arms wrapped around herself. This certainly was peculiar. Why, when she was alone, would Air decide to break down…?

It was then that Itachi noticed the broken glass on the floor, and the fact that Air's face still remained stoic. He rushed over, knelt by her side and took her wrists. Was she cutting herself again?

His memory flashed to that night three months before…

Itachi walked into Air's room, finding it too dark to see. Funny, Air should've been up at this time.

_Then the smell of blood hit his nostrils. He quickly reached over and flicked on the lights, to reveal Air, sitting on the bed, with a razorblade held to her near-gushing wrist. Her face still appeared stoic, and no sound was coming from her, as usual. _

_Itachi promptly walked over to her and took the razorblade away from her, tapping her forehead. "Don't. Your family needs you." He said emotionlessly. He left the room, disturbed, and turned off the lights again._

He swallows before looking at her wrists. The same old scars were there, but there weren't any new cuts. He sighed.

Air was still shaking. He was curious as to see what emotion was battling it's way out in his love, so he chanced hooking his fingers under his chin and bringing her face up for him to see.

When he looked into her eyes, he saw all the sadness clawing it's way out. He heard her inner screaming, he saw the small mother sobbing over her dead husband's gravestone. But none of it portrayed on her features.

Itachi finally spoke. "Air…" He hesitated. He pushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. She was starting to recompose herself, he noticed, so he stood.

After watching her clean up the pieces and throw them away, he was sure she wouldn't be trying anything. Her eyes still showed so much emotion though, in those simple red orbs.

He left the kitchen after she went off to bed.

For the next few weeks, Itachi continued to watch her closely, to see if she would show any sort of emotion like that again. But alas, her eyes still remained void and cold.

Every once in a while someone would again try to make her do something, but it never worked. Itachi knew it wouldn't, but he never told anyone. _Just let them keep trying, they'll stop soon._ Although it was hard for him not to do the same thing. He couldn't stand seeing her so…. There was no way to describe it. Stoic, if anything.

After a few more weeks, Itachi watched from the armchair in the living room as Chiharu and Hideki once again went in at an attempt to make their mother smile. The two had decided to do some finger-painting. Both Hideki and Chiharu had taken one canvas and used every shade of blue they could find. They searched in every room and stole all the paints to find the right colors, and in the end the entire canvas was covered with what must have been a thousand different shades.

Chiharu stood back and admired their work for a moment before walking over to the couch to retrieve her mother. "Mama! Come look! Mama!"

Emotionless as usual, Air stood and allowed her daughter to lead her over to the painting. It took her all of two seconds before Itachi saw that same flash of emotion in her eyes from all those weeks ago. She walked away in the next second without a word and sat back down on the couch.

Itachi understood. Everything reminded the girl of her deceased husband. Especially the color blue. She used to smile so much before that day… especially when working with blue things. She always looked so beautiful when she smiled…. Didn't she? Could anyone even remember what she looked like when she actually did smile?

It was then that Itachi came to his final decision.

_I will make her show emotion…_ he promised himself. _I will make her smile and feel happy._

But could he do that…?


	2. Cry for me, Air

It had been two months since that first incident where Itachi encountered Air in the kitchen. Since then, she was still yet to show any emotion or speak or make any sound whatsoever. Every day, though someone still tried to earn a reaction from her.

Late one night, Itachi made another visit to the kitchen, finding Air at the sink as usual with the dishes. He had decided earlier that day that if someone talked to her enough, eventually she might just open up to the rest of the world. Calmly, he sat down at the table and looked over at her, trying to figure out what to say. _Come on, dammit, say something. Anything._

"Ah, you know, washing the dishes used to be _my_ job." He watched for a response. Nothing. "But you seem to do it a lot better than I can, so you can continue doing so." He was just trying to make friendly conversation, but it still didn't work any. He stood up in his chair. "Here, let me help you." He walked over to the counter and grabbed a dishtowel to dry the dishes.

"Do you mind e being this close?" They were only centimeters apart, if either of them moved the other would know. He could feel the heat coming off of her body, they were so close. Still no response. "I guess not, then."

Silence passed between them for a few more minutes. The two worked automatically, until all the dishes were done and put away. When it all was over, Air turned to Itachi, stoic, though her mouth was opening slightly, as if to say something. But no words came out. Her mouth closed again, and she turned to leave the room. Itachi raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. Could she even use her voice anymore?

For the next week, things played out as Itachi had planned, if not slower. Air still hadn't shown emotion yet. Every day he would try to make conversation with her, with no response, but he still worked nonetheless. The days went by like that, until one day when he decided to cross the line.

He walked over to the sink and picked up a dishtowel, trying to decide how to start the conversation. A few plates were handed to him before he spoke.

"Kisame was my best friend, you know." He glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye.

Her expression changed, her lips twitching downward in a frown. Her eyes had widened the tiniest bit of a fraction, and the plate in her hands dropping into the sink, breaking at the sudden impact with the cold metal. He fought the triumphant smirk threatening to pull at his lips and kept going.

"He was my partner for missions since I was thirteen…" He sighed and put the dishrag down. "He was different then. You changed him, Air, you changed him a lot." He looked over at her once more. Her expression still remained the same, but tears were threatening to leak out of the corners or her eyes. _That's it, cry, show emotion…_he thought to himself, all the while continuing with his speech. "You turned him from a bloodthirsty killer into… a loving father and husband. A man who cares for people, with a good sense of humor, I must say." He folded the dishtowel and placed it lightly on the counter, still glancing at Air out of the corner of his eye. Her expression had returned to emotionless, but the tears were still dangerously close to spilling over. _So close, just keep going…_

"It's a shame he's not around to watch his children grow."

He heard a gasp, and turned fully to look at her. Her hands were gripping the counter, and she was shaking, dozens of tears spilling over and hitting the sink she was leaned over. She was crying, but no sound escaped her yet. And it looked like she was trying so hard not to cry, but failed miserably.

_That's it, just cry, and let it all out…_ He reached out and touched her shoulder; she crumpled and fell to the ground, the tears still flooding down her face. She bit her lip until it bled, a small drop falling to the floor and mixing with her salty tears. Itachi knelt down on his knees and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Come on, Air, cry." He spoke softly into her hair as she soaked his cloak. "That's it, cry…" He was never any good at comforting people. Then again, he was never good at really talking to people, either…

He wasn't expecting her to be _so_ emotional, and yet so silent at the same time. He tried rubbing her back lightly, which after a few minutes earned him a quiet, muffled sob that could only have been heard by trained ears. But once he heard it, he felt arms snake around him. She was _hugging_ him! Well, he surely hadn't expected _that._ He held her tighter, shifting around so that she was sitting in his lap, sobbing into his shoulder. She was still quiet, yes, but at least she was making sound. Her voice was scratchy and almost sounded like it hurt her to use it after so long.

After a long time of her crying relentlessly, he realized that she was going to be in her breakdown for a while. He shifted around once again, her hands grasping for any part of his cloak. This was to be expected, of course. He looked up at the clock. The sun was just starting to rise. He decided it would be best if she were moved out of sight of others and stood, lifting her into his arms and carrying her away from the kitchen.

When he hit the hallway, he was wondering which room he should go to. His or hers? He shook his head to keep away the thoughts he knew would be there at the thought of the two of them in his room, alone, and strode down the hallway towards her room. No one had been in there besides her, not even the kids had been curious enough o venture into the room and see if anything had changed. From what Itachi remembered, there had been a few family portraits on the black walls of their room, with a few pictures of either parents, then pictures of the kids, then posters of random people.

At the moment, Air was clinging desperately onto his shoulder, the sounds long since having stopped escaping past her lips, but the tears still streaming relentlessly down her cheeks. Itachi remained stoic on the outside, however, and upon opening the door, a brief wave of shock crashed across his face before anything else.

The room was stripped bare of anything that could have possible served as a reminder of the past. There were no pictures, not even the same furniture. The large queen-sized bed had been replaced with a small twin-sized one, and the one armchair was completely gone. All that remained in the room were two dressers and a small mirror. The closet door looked honestly dusty from disuse, and he automatically assumed that the closet was where most of the items had gone. Upon taking a closer inspection, he noticed that the only think he actually did recognize was the black wallpaper.

Air squeezed his shoulder lightly and he gently let her down to the ground, where she immediately fell to her knees and resumed with her silent cries. Itachi couched down and touched a hand to her shoulder, but she pushed him away. Her lips moved, as if she was trying to say something. He leaned closer to hear.

"B-b-bastard… I c-can't cry, I can't… h-have to be st-strong…" She kept trying to wipe at her eyes. Her throat sounded seriously scratchy to the point of discomfort. Was it really that difficult to speak after being in silence for so long?

Itachi sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder again, pulling her into a hug and whispering into her hair, "Hush now, just cry. Let it out and cry for me, Air."

At those words, she shuddered, a loud sob emanating from her. She buried her face in his chest, just as he had seen she and Kisame do before he had died.  
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Yes, I know it's starting to go really fast. No one's reading this ToT So hopefully if I get some action in here sooner rather than later more people will read it! I'm working on other stories, I PROMISE! It's just that I've been busy with schoolwork lately... -sigh- hopefully I'm not in too much of a hassle when I get stuff done. This chapter is actually way shorter than I wanted it to be, but it works. I'll try to update soon!

Ah, and those of you wishing to see a second chapter in my DeiNeji plot, _Strawberry Shampoo,_ then I advise you to look out! I've had another dream X3 And this one's even better!

**Review and favorite please!!!**


	3. I've been waiting too long, Air

It took three months for Air to come out of her room again, two of which Itachi had spent in there with her, consoling her, trying to help her to speak again. It was trouble enough to get her to eat or wake up.

On the one-hundred and seventh of confinement, Itachi went into her room yet again, determined to bring her out of the sad place.

"Are you ready to come out today?" He said to her. She was laying in bed as usual, facing the bare walls. She was clean, at least, being smart enough to bathe and change clothes every day.

"No." She said quietly. It was still a strain to talk.

Itachi sighed and walked over to the bed, scooping her up and throwing her over his shoulder. She squirmed and kicked at first, but finally conceded when they left the room. He set her down and closed the door behind him, looking at her.

"we're going to see him today, Air." He stated blandly, although inside he was angry at himself for making her do this. Her face visibly paled, and she swayed like a willow.

"N-no!" She said to him, her eyes already glistening. "Itachi, I _can't!" _She looked up at him, frantic in her movements as she clutched at the front of his cloak. "Please!"

He shook his head. "We're going. You and I, Air. You need some closure."

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As they trudged through the woods, Air behind Itachi, the two of them were silent. The fight for Air to go had been tremendous and had involved more than one person yelling. The whole time, Itachi had been wondering n the back of his head why Air was so reluctant. Wouldn't it e better if she had just gotten over the shark-nin and moved on, instead of remaining miserable all her life?

Air was making her anger known not through words, but through sheer action. Her steps caused quite a commotion, and every time something was in her way she would push it over with much more force than needed or use her claws to slash it to pieces.

As they continued walking, Itachi turned off of the path and into the thickness of the woods, Air following after without question. He could hear behind him the unnecessary cutting of the plants around them, but he paid no heed as they grew closer to their destination.

The thickness soon led them into a small clearing, and in the center of the clearing was a small tombstone, one that, upon sighting, Itachi inwardly cursed Kakuzu for being so cheap as to not pay for a better one for his partner.

They both stopped, and Itachi knew by the way Air's shoulders tensed up that she knew where they were. Her fingers twitched anxiously, her eyes downcast. As he watched her, he stepped to the side, grabbing her hand and pulling it forward lightly so that she was pulled forward as well. Once her feet started moving, she too moved as well, closer to the gravestone, and Itachi let go of her hand as she continued moving and leaned back against a tree to watch her.

She stepped forward, staring at the stone for a moment. The plant life around it had thrived, almost hiding the stone from view. If one were to look closely, they would see the words _"Kisame Hoshigaki, __beloved husband, father, and friend"_ carved into the stone. Itachi's mind flashed to the day of Kisame's funeral, and he remembered how Air had said nothing, had buried her feelings as she stepped up to the grave and was the one who threw in the first handful of soil before it was filled in. He remembered how Nikki had been the one to comfort the crying children.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Air fall to the ground in a boneless sobbing heap. He watched her, her shaking shoulders, and his thoughts went back to that funeral day again, to when he first saw that expression on Air's face that matched so well with his own. He had thought nothing of I at first, thought it was simply a phase he girl would go through, but oh, how wrong he was.

"I-Itachi..." He looked up from his thoughts. Air was on he ground, one arm holding herself while he other reached out to him. He sighed, taking a step forward before dropping to the ground and pulling her into a tight hug. He held her to him while she cried, while she shook and sobbed in his arms. Itachi shifted around, so that she was sitting on his lap, and continued to hold her. Inwardly sighing, he thought. When would his time come? When would Air realize that Itachi had been there this whole time, that he still loved her? When would he get his recognition?

It was then that he decided to test just how far the line went. He pulled away from the hug slightly as he stared down at Air, whose ears were spilling down on his cloak. His hand went to her chin, lifting her face up to look at his. As he watched her cry, he felt a pan of regret. He wished that he had done this sooner, before this girl that he loved had been blessed with the children of a man other than himself, before he had broken her heart and she went to someone else.

He pushed the thought aside and softly pressed his lips to hers.

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.....It looked SO much better on paper. I swear. My god, this chapter is horrible....

And a quick warning to readers: There WILL in fact be a lemon scene somewhere in this. Not in the next chapter, unless I absolutely can't help myself. _  
Ja ne!


	4. Release, Air

Afterwords was far worse than he had expected. She pushed him away, her hand over her mouth as she stared up at him with betrayal in her eyes. He stared right back at her, his arms still on her shoulders in a vice-like hold that almost made her whimper.

"Why?!" she slowly managed to choke out, her hands twitching on his chest.

"Why?" he repeated her question out loud. "Because I still love you, Air. Why not?" he watched as her expression flashed through so many emotions-- horror, understanding, fear, and, finally, confusion.

"Itachi..." she said, not moving closer or farther away from him. She just stayed there, and Itachi saw that draining of emotion in her eyes-- that dimness was growing, he could tell by the frown that was etching words onto her face. "I'm sorry."

She was lying to herself, he knew she was. He could feel her arms traveling up to his shoulders and staying there, their grip tightening, not wanting to let go. Her eyes were watering up again. Itachi backtracked. "It's alright, I should have expected this." He honestly thought the words to be true, he should have known better than to rush things like he did.

And yet Air shook her head, as if trying to forget the whole thing. "I'd like to go home now, please."

And they did. They both walked along in silence, both acting as if nothing was different from before they ventured out into the woods. The sky was dark by now, and Itachi couldn't help but watch Air as she walked; he let his eyes travel downward, watching her hips sway as she continued on. She really had grown into a remarkable 17-year-old by now, barely recognizable when compared to the immature fourteen year old that had arrived at the cave years before. Itachi had watched her grow, had spent many a night imagining those curves on her small body in his hands, his fingers gliding over the soft skin...

He heard something up ahead of him that made him look up from the ground. He noticed then that the moon was out. It wasn't full, but its light shone on the surface of the lake, reflecting onto Air's skin as she turned around to look at him, her expression one of uncertainty. Itachi stopped in his tracks, staring at her as she did him.

Her lips parted. "Itachi," She started, and looked down slightly. "Join me for a swim?"

He though for a moment before nodding. "Hold on." He went behind some bushes, hearing Air mimic the action a few yards east of him. He removed his cloak, his shirt, pants and shoes following afterwords, leaving him in only his boxers. He looked down at himself for a moment before stepping out of the bushes. Air was there waiting for him, already waist-deep in the water, her back to hm. She too was clad in only her underwear, cotton garments covering her most private of areas. She turned to face him, and he took a few steps forward, entering the cool water. She watched him as he came to her, and soon they were mere inches apart, Itachi staring down at her as she looked right back up at him.

Itachi had to distract himself from looking down at her body as she stood there in front of him, her expression as stoic as it was minutes before her first breakdown. Her hands reached up to grab his own, and he found himself looking into her eyes, eyes that were listless as she stepped backwards, leading him forwards, deeper and deeper into the water. Soon enough they were both up to their necks, Air treading water already while Itachi's toes lightly brushed against the lake floor. Then, Air let go of his hands, took a deep breath, and plunged under the surface of the water.

He watched her go deeper and deeper, wondering how she was able to hold her breath for so long until hit hit him-- after swimming with Kisame so much it must have come naturally for her to hold her breath for long periods of time without too much strain. He over down after her, watching her figure as she swam around, her lithe form making its way through reeds and weed and rocks. Itachi found his mind beginning to wander why she loved swimming so much. He himself barely enjoyed the sport, he found it tedious and far too time-consuming. He resurfaced, deciding to wait for Air to do the same.

She did so about a minute later, her hair plastered to her face, neck and shoulders as she tried to locate him. They were about ten feet away, so Itachi swam over to her. "Why do you like swimming so much?" He asked.

He saw her look down, as if ashamed. "I-it makes me feel closer to him... like I'm in his arms." She ended her answer with a choked sob, a tear falling from her eye and mixing in with the water around them. "Itachi, I'm so sorry..."

He watched her cry this time instead of taking her in his arms and consoling her as he usually would. Then, he offered a hand. She took it, and they went back to the shore, this time him leading her.

They stepped onto the slightly sandy shore of the lake, Air by then holding onto Itachi as her body shook. He hugged her, keeping her standing and neglecting the cold air that bit his skin. His hands roamed through her hair, smoothing it down and soothing her.

"I-I shouldn't," She sobbed. "Itachi, I shouldn't--"

"Shh, Air, it's alright... Just let go." He realized the truth of his own words. She was still holding on to the thought that she should be a dutiful wife, remaining in love with her husband until the day she died. If only she knew just how much Itachi loved her... He kissed the top of her head. "It's okay, it's alright for you to let go. Kisame would want you to be happy, wouldn't he?"

She looked up at him, her eyes gaining a tiny shred of flame behind the dim fog in them. She swallowed, nodding almost too quickly for Itachi to see.

Her hands snaked up his arms, linking their fingers together behind his neck. He allowed her to do so, his hands and arms becoming slack and falling to his sides. It could go either way at this point—she could have let go or kissed him. But she did neither.

One of her hands drew back, the other tightening its grip on his neck to hold his head in place as said hand curled into a fist before colliding with his face. He did nothing to stop it, just stepped back afterwords, one of his own hands slightly cupping his jaw. She came at him, both hands outstretched and they hit his chest hard, knocking him back even more so that his back was pressed against a tree. She advanced on him again, her fist drawing back, but this time he was prepared and grabbed a hold of her wrists, holding Air in place until he was sure that she wouldn't hit him again.

He let go of her hands after a few minutes of struggling. Upon looking at her face, he realized that her eyes were downcast, wide and glassy with her own tears. Her bottom lip was shaking. Her hands were still curled into fists, and she leaned against him as another choked sob made its way from her. She lifted her fist again, shoving it into Itachi's chest weakly as she buried her face next to it. He put his hands on her shoulders and let her cry again, every few seconds kissing the top of her head.

Her fist pounded his chest again and again, and soon, words came from her mouth. "Why did he have to be heroic?!" She asked to no one in particular. "Why didn't he just stay where it was safe?! Why didn't he _stay with me?!"_

Her arms snaked to his shoulders, and suddenly he was pulled down. His eyes closed in sudden, unexpected surprise, and his lips suddenly met with something soft and smooth, moving ardently against his own. His eyes opened slightly, Air's eyes were closed, she was _kissing_ him.

He kissed her back, his arms wrapping around her waist, puling her close to him. They remain like that until neither of them can hold out any longer, and they break away for breath. They looked into each others' eyes for a long while, both half-lidded, both full of uncertainty, and, in one of them, fear.

Then they kissed again.

* * *

Alright, woot, the latest chapter is DONE-- SO happy right now. The thing is, I write little SNIPPETS. I have no IDEA where in the story these little snippets correspond to one another, but they all are IN the story. Today I managed to write THIS little snippet. I hope you enjoyed it, please r&r!

Ja ne!

~Dawn


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